How To Save A Life
by cnfzdpsychosis
Summary: I don't know what to put here.  SkyBridge


A/N: Towards the end of last school year, I lost a friend. Dedicated to her memory.

Sky had never hurt so much before. The pain from the attack was fading and he knew that soon, he'd probably forget all about it. It was the thought of what the fight had almost cost him that gave him pause. Jack had been yelling at him to put up a shield and, without checking to see if it was clear, the blue ranger had de-morphed. It was a mistake that almost took Bridge's life.

_Step one you say we need to talk  
He walks, you say sit down it's just a talk  
He smiles politely back at you  
You stare politely right on through  
Some sort of window to your right  
As he goes left and you stay right  
Between the lines of fear and blame  
You begin to wonder why you came_

Sky had been attacked, and there wasn't enough time to put up a shield. Nowhere to go, he waited to be hit. Except he wasn't; Bridge had thrown himself in front of the oncoming attack and Sky was left to support the body of his unconscious friend. It was an image Sky knew he could never forget.

Jack wasn't talking to him. According to the red ranger, it was a beginner's mistake. Syd and Z were more understanding. They knew he was going through a difficult time. His mother was dying and it brought up added stress that he didn't need, though Sky knew it was merely an excuse to hide behind.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

Every person Sky passed, he'd lower his head. He didn't want to see their faces, didn't want to know if they were looking at him in pity or anger. He secluded himself from the entire academy, only leaving his room in order to eat, train, fight, and visit Bridge in the infirmary. It was a methodic schedule, like clockwork. Nothing else could entice him to leave his room.

Every person he talked to told him how lucky he was. What he wanted to know, was how being responsible for the almost death of a friend was lucky. The guilt that stuck with Sky long after Bridge returned to duty wasn't something he could easily rid himself of. Having lost a friend once, Sky didn't want to lose another. He trained harder, paid attention to his surroundings more closely, and kept farther and farther away from the green ranger. His seclusion, however, was worrying his teammates.

_Let him know that you know best  
Cause after all you do know best  
Try to slip past his defense  
Without granting innocence  
Lay down a list of what is wrong  
The things you've told him all along _

_Pray to God he hears you  
And I pray to God he hears you_

"Sky, why do you keep avoiding me?" The questioned ranger glanced tiredly up at the form of his friend. He hadn't been sleeping well, what with the recurring nightmares of Bridge's near-death experience.

"What are you talking about, Bridge?" he asked quietly. Bridge looked at him with a mixture of exasperation and sadness. He knew that Sky felt responsible for what had happened to him, and in a way he was. But Bridge had been the first to forgive him and he couldn't see what he had done to warrant this change in his friend.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

"What did I do? You won't talk to me, you never want to do anything, what did I do to make you that upset with me?" His tone held quiet anger and confusion. It questioned him and Sky was tempted to answer, enticed to open his mouth and spill his feelings onto the floor of their room. But he didn't; instead he looked at the floor. The pain in Bridge's eyes was too much for him to bear and he could feel it begin to suffocate him. He knew he had to get out of the room, fast. He knew he was slowly killing himself and he refused to take Bridge with him.

_As he begins to raise his voice  
You lower yours and grant him one last choice  
Drive until you lose the road_

_Or break with the ones you've followed  
He will do one of two things  
He will admit to everything  
Or he'll say he's just not the same  
And you'll begin to wonder why you came_

Bridge grabbed him by his arm and Sky fought the instinct to rip it out of his grasp. He paused, still refusing to look at his friend, the one he loved most. Even if he couldn't tell Bridge that he was hopelessly in love with him, the least he could do was listen to what he had to say.

Bridge sent a questioning look, one that Sky caught out of the corner of his eye, but he adamantly refused to acknowledge it. Shifting his eyes a little more, he could see the pained expression on the green ranger's face. He looked as if he was slowly being bled to death, and Sky inwardly cringed knowing that he had put that expression on his face. Closing his eyes, the older ranger fought back a wave of tears that threatened to fall.

"Why do you hate me?" His heart broke, hearing those words. Silently the tears that he had fought so hard against came rolling down, but Sky couldn't find his voice, couldn't look at Bridge's face and the younger ranger wasn't looking at him. Finally, what felt like an eternity later, Bridge released his arm, but Sky was frozen in his spot until he leaned against the door. "What's so important that you have to keep it a secret, even from me?"

Tears began to roll down Bridge's cheeks and Sky fought the urge to comfort him. 'It's for his own good.' The words kept repeating in Sky's head but he found it more and more difficult to listen to them when his heart was being shredded into even tinier pieces.

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life…_

Bridge looked up, saw him standing against the door, tears still falling, and the green ranger smiled at him. He knew, Sky realized. Both moved, Sky to stand up, and Bridge to wrap his arms around his neck. Sky wrapped his arms around the other's waist, and Bridge smiled into his shoulder before he whispered his own secret to the blue ranger.

"I know how to save a life."

How to Save a Life - The Fray

Reviews Please


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